When Nightmares Become Dreams
by WhenLightningStrikes
Summary: Oliver Queen's personal demons are coming from his own nightmares, and when he realizes that Felicity Smoak has her own demons that she has been running from, he realizes that they aren't that different from one another, but as a new foe rises from the ashes… can they find the strength follow their heart's desire or are they doomed to be what is expected of them? Set prior 2x19, AU
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**First, thank you for reading. I am far from being new to the world of fan fiction, however I wrote under a different penname and I personally wanted to distance myself from my previous works and genre. This is my first attempt of writing something like this, actually this is my first fic in probably four years, but this idea has been floating around for the last few weeks and it's determined to be written, so here it is.**

**Second, I won't be pleading for reviews. They are nice, but I don't think that begging for them is really right either. If you feel the need to review, please do, I like feedback just as much as the next person; however I ask that you are kind to me in your opinions. You are welcome to PM me if you want to chat as well.**

**Third, the updating time table may be a little crazy for a bit. I have spent the last four months off work due to an injury to my pinkie finger and I am actually going back to work and I am unsure on how things will be until I get resettled. So bear with me. I am not one to start something and not finish it.**

**Finally, I won't write a lot of author's notes, I kinda find them annoying when I am reading myself, so unless it's something that needs to be addressed, we'll just focus on the actual materials. With that being said, I'll let you to it.**

**-MB**

**I don't own Arrow, or any of the characters, I'm just taking them out on an adventure. This story starts prior to 2x19. Some elements will follow the current universe; however it will eventually go in the direction of an alternate universe. Happy Reading!**

Chapter 1

"_Oliver! We're late! You need to hurry along!"_

_Oliver looked down at the tie that he hated wearing and frowned as he continued to look at his own reflection in the mirror. He was sad for so many reasons, but most of all he was sad that one of the only people that ever truly cared about him was now gone and he would never see him again._

"_Oliver!" called his mother from downstairs. He turned and scurried from his room. Passing many servants as he ran, he did everything to keep from meeting anyone's eyes. No one understood him, the will to be invisible and just be ignored. It was as he descended the stairs that he noticed his mother dressed in her best, a pink bundle tucked under her arms. He paused as he began to come down the stairs and couldn't help but smile. Thea was the only thing that made his life bearable. He would sneak into the nursery and just watch her sleep; she was the most perfect person in his life._

"_Oliver!" scolded his mother. _

"_I'm coming," he whispered as he hurried down to meet his mother. She was holding out his jacket and was pulling it on as his father entered the foyer._

"_Come along, we're going to be late as it is. Of course the boy isn't ready, he's been nothing but a disappointment," he sighed as he put his own coat on._

"_Robert!" gasped his mother. "He's just a boy!"_

_Oliver hurried out the front doors when the servant opened them and into the awaiting car and his parents climbing soon afterward, his mother placing Thea in the safety of her car seat. Not wanting to draw any more attention to himself he quickly sent his eyes to what was going on outside of the car, not the people in it, and wishing he was anywhere but where he was at the moment._

"_Robert, have you spoke the board yet, I know with everything that is going on that things will be busy. I know that being CEO will be a change and that your father…"_

"_It doesn't matter what my father wanted… he's not here anymore." Grumbled Robert, "Now I will get to teach my son as I see fit, not as that senile old man felt it should be done. He coddled the boy…"_

_Oliver's thoughts drifted to the man that he had called grandfather, the man that had meant more to him than anyone, at least that was true until he laid eyes on his sister. He was a soft soul, but was a great business man, and he would spend hours and hours listening to him work._

"_He's a Queen and he is going to be a man that will be respected and he will find his voice and quite cowering down to anyone."_

_Oliver didn't realize that as his father continued to speak that he was actually starting to cower down into the seat and again wishing himself invisible._

"_You are going to stop that! You are a Queen dammit and you are going to act as such!" bellowed Robert._

"_Robert! Exclaimed Moria, "you're scaring him, and you are scaring Thea." Thea was starting to fuss. He didn't mean to, but tears began to stream down his face and it was then that he saw his father's hand come out of nowhere and struck him across the face, causing Thea to start to scream…_

Jerking himself awake, Oliver sat up in the bed, wiping his hand across his face attempting to keep the sweat from running down into his eyes. He was drenched and shaking from images that he had long placed in the past. The boy he was and the man he had become were trying to merge…

It was the shifting beside him that made him remember that he was not alone. Beside him, Sara was asleep and her hair fanned out upon the pillow. She was still deep in slumber, and it was clear that he was not meant to be so he climbed from the bed and took himself to the window and began to stare out into the darkness. The sigh that escaped his lips came for a variety of reasons. Slade Wilson continued to torment them relentlessly, when they thought that they were getting close to defeating him, they would discover that he was still ten steps ahead of them and what he was doing was even more sinister than he had previously done. He couldn't help but think how ironic it was that it was now that his past wanted to come back to haunt him.

"Oliver?"

He didn't know how long he had stood there after Sara spoke, but didn't acknowledge her, he just turned back to the bed, and climbed in beside her, hoping that she wouldn't push too much, which he as almost sure she would not. Felicity on the other hand would be asking a million questions and all within a few minutes. He felt a slight smirk cross his lips at the thought of his friend though. He finally settled himself back in the bed, Sara slowly rolling over and faced him.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she gently ran her fingers along his jaw. "It seems like something is bothering you." In a way, he wanted to be truthful, but there was too much going on to worry about besides a bad dream.

"Yeah, just have a lot on my mind, I guess," he replies as he placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"I think that to be expected," smiling as she curled herself into Oliver's side. It wasn't long before silence returned to the room, and the only sound that he could hear were Sara's quiet snores beside him. It was nice to be alone with his thoughts again, especially when they concerned people that he had long thought to be in his past. He thought about how much his life had changed after the death of his grandfather, how he became something that he didn't recognize anymore, he became who everyone wanted him to be, not Oliver, but Ollie and it was clear that the universe was playing a cruel joke on him and that his past and his present were on a collision course and it was only a matter of time before they crashed together and the world would be forever changed.

* * *

Felicity was at her desk when Oliver entered the foundry early the next morning. It was still weird that he wasn't going to the office, that now that Isabel Rochev had taken control of Queen Consolidated. The thought of the situation made him physically ill, but he did his best to keep it under wraps since everyone had enough on their plates as is. All he knew is that he needed to avoid making eye contact with Felicity; she would be reading his troubles right off his face as soon as she met his eyes.

"Morning," she sighed as she continued to concentrate on her work, never turning to even acknowledge his presence. It was the sound of the keys on the keyboard that filled the room, nothing else. They were alone, it was well before any of the club employees would be turning up to clean up from the previous night and get it ready for the next night of patrons. Looking at the clock, Oliver realized that Diggle would be arriving in an hour, and he couldn't help but enjoy the simple silence since he was more than happy to dwell within his own thoughts for a while.

As he crossed the room toward the mats, it was when he realized that the cot had been slept in and he knew the last time he was here he had picked up after himself. It was when he turned to notice that Felicity was not in her normal pristine appearance, she was pretty disheveled actually. Her normally perfect hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head, and she was dressed in a baggy t-shirt along with a faded pair of gray sweatpants, and bright pink socks.

"Felicity… did you stay here last night?" concern dripping from his voice.

It was that moment that she stopped typing, she didn't want to move, didn't even want to breathe. Acknowledging him would mean should have to vocalize why she was there and that wasn't something that she really wanted to do, especially since it wasn't really the reasons that he was likely thinking at the moment. They were stressed to the max over the current situation in concern to Slade Wilson, but this wasn't anything to do with that monster. She couldn't help but scold herself for not keeping track of time and getting changed and the lair picked up before someone arrived. It probably wouldn't have been an issue if it had been Digg, but that was beyond the point.

"Felicity?" His voice was becoming more Arrow like since he was thinking that he was avoiding the subject, and she totally was avoiding it.

Spinning around in her chair she plastered a fake smile on her face and seconds later words start to tumble from her lips. "It's not what you think, though I'm not sure what you think at the moment. I'm just really embarrassed to be here in my bum clothes and you just keep looking at me like I did something or kicked your puppy and I would never kick a puppy, I like animals too much…"

"Felicity!"

Her mouth just snaps shut, and she closes her eyes for a moment, took a few deep breaths, adjusted her glasses on her face, and finally opened her eyes to see that Oliver had rolled the other chair over by her and took a seat. Oliver couldn't help but feel confused seeing her like this, not the rambling part, which was pretty normal for Felicity, but this wild look in her eyes, that was new.

"There's been a lot of things going here lately as you know," she begins, "I know we have all been on edge due to the whole Slade and Isabel takeover, Thea finding out that Malcom Merlyn is her biological father, your mother and her insane ability to keep world altering secrets…It's been keeping my mind pretty busy. I can't seem to get my mind to wind down; it just keeps going ninety to nothing. Just being at home by myself lately has been making me a little crazy because the littlest sound makes me want to jump out of my skin, so I just got in my car and drove here."

Oliver couldn't help but feel bad for her. He knew that things had been affecting him, how could he not know that things would be bothering her, and it made him realize that this was likely taking its toll on Diggle and Sara as well. She looked exhausted and frazzled, but something told him that there was more than what she was saying at this point, but he decided that maybe this wasn't the time, and he would ask again sometime, just not now.

"I know I shouldn't have come, but…" she paused, but went on a few moments later in a voice that was barely a whisper, "this whole thing has brought a lot of things that I have chosen to bury back to the surface. Some things just won't stay were you want them."

Those words haunted Oliver more than Felicity could ever know. He knew he had his own demons, and it was logical that she would too, but it was hard to see someone that was normally so bright and full of life, in such a dark place within themselves, especially after his last dream.

"Believe me, I know," he chuckled to himself. Reaching out he gently took her hand, "You should get changed. Digg will be here soon and I really doubt you will want to explain this to him," gesturing to her current state, not that he really minded.

Smiling she stood and slipped across the room into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Standing he tried to put himself back together internally and did what he could to try to erase the signs of Felicity staying there in the lair the previous night. If she wanted to share her concerns with Digg, that was one thing, but to be forced is another. It was the sound of the shower turning on made him smile as he continued to work. As he finished pulling the blankets back up on the cot, he could hear Digg descending the stairs.

"You're early. Didn't really expect you till later." Laughed Digg as he came face to face with Oliver.

"Couldn't sleep," he grumbled and it was at that exact moment that Felicity had chosen to walk out of the bathroom. Dressed as she would have if she was still going to the office, she looked startled that Digg had already arrived, her eyes quickly danced across the room and relaxed when she noticed that Oliver had tried to protect her pride somewhat. The only thing that would likely make her more uncomfortable would be for Sara to arrive and witness this, especially being alone and freshly showered with her boyfriend present.

"Good morning?" snickered Digg as he dropped into the chair that Oliver had previously occupied.

"Good morning," she smiled as she placed her bag by the bathroom door and returned to take her seat back in front of the computers and hopefully resume the work that she had already been doing this morning. "Okay, I have been monitoring what Isabel has been up to and I think I have figured out how she convinced the board to oust you as CEO…" hoping that bringing their attention back to the task at hand and not on the fact that she has made herself at home in the foundry. Lucky for her, Diggle wasn't the type of person to pry into people's personal life, and today she was rather thankful for that.

"So, it wasn't a corporate coup I set in motion by my inability to keep Slade out of my head," Oliver retorted with as much sarcasm as he could muster. He couldn't help but shake his head at himself in disgust. He let Slade and Isabel get one over him, and they were all paying the price.

"Actually, no. It seems that Slade has been at work for this a lot longer than we thought, and I really don't know why I didn't think to look into this in the first place. It seems like he bought off most of the board members, and the ones that were loyal to the Queen family, he investigated them, found things that they wouldn't want the world to know and blackmailed them. From what I have found it looks like he has been preparing his revenge for a while."

"How is that even possible?" Digg quickly asked," Hell Oliver was on that damn island for five years and Slade was there." Oliver really didn't want to know how long Slade had been at work at his plot, the more he found out, the more frustrated he became.

"He wasn't with me the whole time though," Oliver countered as he leaned against the med bay table. "At one point I thought Slade was dead so how would I know what he had been up to."

"I guess you have a point," leaning back Digg rubbed his eyes in frustration. "I just know that SOB is really getting on my last nerve."

"If I was to guess, it looks like he has been working on this for a few years. Most of the stuff I have found is dated back three years prior to your resurrection," Felicity mumbles. This wasn't something she really wanted to share, but it was clear that they were even more behind tracking Slade than they originally thought which was going to make Oliver even more on edge than he already and it hasn't escaped her notice that he hadn't been sleeping. Today he looked like death warmed over.

Digg stood and began to pace around the room and suddenly stopped and turned to them. "I know that this may sound out there, but follow me for a minute. Slade wasn't on the island when you got off," he said looking at Oliver.

Oliver looked so defeated, but he knew there wasn't any point in denying things now. There were still too many secrets between him and the rest of his team; past, including his childhood and life on the island, and present ones. Sighing, he just nodded, unable to actually speak the words.

"We know from what Felicity found that he has been up to something prior to you getting off the island. Who's to say that he hasn't been planning this whole thing…? What if Slade Wilson is the real reason you were rescued from that island?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Arrow or any of its characters. Again, I'm just taking them out on an adventure.**

Chapter 2

Words couldn't express what was going through Oliver's mind when Diggle's theory really set in and the reality that his life up to this point may have been set in motion by a mad man was a little more than he could truly process. There were some facts of the situation that could not be denied, one being that the island that he had been on was very remote… the odds that a fishing boat would pass by it and it saving him was very unlikely. He spent five years there and never even saw a boat out in the distance and then one day one passes by just close enough to signal to save his life?

The next thing he knew as there was a shriek from somewhere in front of him and he realized that he had subconsciously cleared one of the tables of its contents with the sweep of his arm and noticed that Diggle was standing defensively in front of Felicity, and she was cowering back behind him, and that the shriek was from one very nervous IT-girl.

He stood there blankly for a moment; he hadn't done anything to really scare himself in a long time, but this realization was really plaguing him. He was normally in control of himself, but due the current situation and how he was feeling internally he was really nervous. Was his head in this? Was he going to be able to protect his family and friends from Slade?

"Oliver?"

Diggle was still ready to protect himself and Felicity if Oliver did anything else that made him think that Oliver wasn't in control. Oliver almost felt defeated when he noticed his friend's expression. He knew that Digg would do what was necessary, and if that meant taking him down, he would have to respect that, and he wouldn't expect anything less. He knew that a lot of the trauma he experienced at the hands of some of the captors on that island and the mental torment of being alone part of the time would damage anyone. Even John had discussed PTSD with him. Maybe that was the issue, but this wasn't the time for those issues, this was the time that needed to be used to defeating Slade and protecting those he cared for.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," he sighed as he started to pick up the mess.

Diggle relaxed some and bent over and started to help Oliver gather the scattered gear and papers, and it was then that Oliver noticed Felicity. She was still cowering back behind the table that housed her many computers. Her eyes were closed and he could tell she was breathing deeply through her nose, almost like she was trying to find her focus again. Her doe eyes suddenly snapped open and locked with his and it was almost like she knew that he was watching her. He couldn't explain what that look did to him; it was almost like in that moment all his secrets were laid before this woman. Without her speaking a word, her eyes told so many things. They said I had seen that kind of anger before, it was a reason to be afraid, and that made his heart hurt a little, but most of all he saw understanding, almost like she understood his frustrations, but he couldn't understand why someone like Felicity would understand that kind of pain and anguish.

Dropping her eyes, Felicity finally stepped back to her seat at the computer and settled down as she looked on as Diggle and Oliver replaced the items on the table, and when they were done both returned to the places that they had previously occupied before Oliver's outburst.

"So, is it possible?" Asked Oliver, his eyes locked on the still shaken Felicity. "Is it possible that everything so far could have been a calculated move by Slade to enact some form of revenge against me?"

"It could be possible, I guess," she sighed. "I mean it's not something that I have really looked into, but if you want to know, I can find out."

"Look, but we need to focus on the present. If Slade has been orchestrating this whole thing then maybe it will take figuring out his original moves to know what he has got planned for the present."

They sat in silence for a while, taking time to process everything, and it was the sound of foot steps down the stairs that caused everyone to realize that Sara had finally arrived.

"Why does everyone look like someone has died?" She asked as she leaned against the table beside Oliver.

"You kinda missed the show," laughed Diggle as he went on to fill Sara in on what they had discovered and had happened in the last thirty minutes.

Oliver watched as Felicity rolled back to the computer and placed her focus back on the screen, not on what was going on around her. He wandered over to her and took the seat beside her since Diggle had abandoned it to show something to Sara.

"Hey…"

"I'm working, Oliver…"

He spun her around in her chair to face him. She tried her best to look annoyed; she wanted to look annoyed, it would be better than what she was feeling in that moment. She never thought Oliver Queen would do anything to scare her besides the nightly near death situations that he put himself in, but seeing that blind rage that had crossed his eyes, that was something that she never expected. She felt the tears starting to build in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Oliver, even an angry Oliver, would never hurt someone he cared about; he wasn't like the people in her past that claimed to care about her.

"Hey… where did you go?" He asked as he gently took her hand.

"A dark place that I would rather forget."

"I wouldn't think you, Felicity Smoak, would ever have a dark place," he answered with a smile.

"All people have dark places, Oliver, not just people that were stranded on deserted islands."

She stood and left Oliver sitting there, and he watched her climb the stairs out of the foundry. He couldn't help feel some form of rejection when she left him there. He had never admitted it, and likely never would, but he found comfort in the sunny world that Felicity normally existed in. He lost that ability to find the sunshine in life when his Pawpaw Queen passed away. Oliver then internally scolded himself by calling the man his Pawpaw even when he knew that was what he had always called the man. Robert Queen thought it was not proper and he had always had to call him Grandfather in his dad's presence, but when they were alone, Richard Queen was his Pawpaw.

"Oliver…"

Turning back to the two people that were still there, Oliver noticed Sara sitting down beside him. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.

"You okay? Diggle said you just went crazy there for a minute."

"I'm fine. Just frustrated, I guess. I never realized how much Slade really hated me. He was my friend…"

"He has been sick since he was injected with the Mirakuru. You know it does more than give super human strength, it destroys humanity too," sighed Sara as she laid her hand on Oliver's.

"It makes me worry about Roy since I basically pushed him away from Thea…"

"Roy is a good kid; he will find his way in the world. Slade was a tainted man well before he came to the island, but Roy has had to deal with a tough hand in this life, but his heart has always been in the right place. I say that eventually his heart will bring him back to Starling City. He really does love your sister."

"Maybe I was wrong to push them apart…"

"Ollie, you did what you thought would protect Thea, you had no idea that Slade would tell Thea about Malcom. Life isn't like a fight, we can't countermove to deflect all possible attacks, we have to take a path and hope it's the best one for us."

"Okay are we patrolling tonight?" Asked Diggle as he finally came back from doing some weapon checks.

"Yeah, let's do a little recon and we'll head out as soon as its dark," Oliver responded as he stood up, followed by Sara. He watched as Sara cross the room talking to Digg as she went and it was then that he turned back to the stairs and he could still replay the sound of Felicity leaving in his mind and how sad she was as she went. He would have to check on her later, now he had to put on another one of his many masks and go out to defend the people of his city.

* * *

Felicity was about to walk up the front steps to her apartment building when she heard something. She turned back and looked everywhere she thought that someone could hide. Shaking her head, she pulled her keys from her purse and went inside. It was quiet but that was to be expected at this time of the morning, everyone had already left to go to work for the day. Internally she grumbled because she honestly wished she was at work too, but due to Oliver being ousted she was now jobless, with the exception of her night job. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, she trudged up to the fourth floor and pushed open the stairwell doors and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips when she stared at her door, especially since she then remembered the reason she left her apartment and went to the foundry in the first place.

Felicity did well to keep her past in the past, but the stress of trying to find out what Slade Wilson was up to was bringing back things that she had thought had been long forgotten. Her past was the reason that she took the job at Queen Consolidated and moved to Starling City in the first place, it got her away from her past, her family, even her friends. Sometimes you have to wash your hands of people to truly get a fresh start. Reaching her door, she put the key in to unlock it but realized that the door was unlocked since she didn't feel the key actually unlocking the door, and she knew that she had locked it when she had left.

She knew that she should call John or Oliver but she didn't want to face another awkward situation and the whole coming out of the shower in the foundry situation was enough embarrassment for one day. Pushing the door open, she looked inside before entering. Nothing looked out of place; her coffee cup from the following night was still on the kitchen counter, her throw pillows from her couch still on the floor… Sighing, she entered and shut the door behind her, releasing a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding.

"Hello, Ms. Smoak."

Jerking herself around she came face to face with Isabel Rochev, she was standing just inside the hallway that lead down to her bedroom. The woman was dressed in her normal business best, but something told Felicity that she wasn't here to discuss business, especially since she took great joy in firing her personally.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, hoping she was sounding fierce, not as terrified as she felt.

"Oh, Ms. Smoak, I think we need to talk," smiled the she-devil as she took a few steps toward her.

"I think you said enough when you fired me, Ms. Rochev. You have no right to be in my home. Get out!"

"Well if we want to discuss rights, then you have no rights to be hacking into my company's systems," she laughed as she continued to saunter toward her.

"It's not your company and you know it!"

"Well the paperwork says otherwise. So what should I do with you, Ms. Smoak? I mean you know all about my relationship with Slade Wilson, about us getting control of the Queen Consolidated board to kick Oliver out of the company, and I could bet you know more than that but my IT people aren't as good as you are and they can't seem figure out what you really know. It's a shame honestly, I wish I could have kept you around, you really are talented, but you are too loyal and I can't have people who are loyal to the Queen family running around telling them our plans for Oliver."

Felicity kept backing up as the woman kept coming closer. What was she doing here? Why didn't she call Oliver and Digg?! She knew that internally reprimanding herself was not helping but she couldn't help it, she was nervous.

"But, my IT people are pretty decent at their job… want to know what they dug up about you, Ms. Smoak?"

The blood drained from her face. No… No! She can't know!

"People think you to be this meek little thing, but inside beats the heart of a…"

"Shut up!"

Isabel laughed, eyes sparkling with glee. "Oh, I see. Your little friends are not in on your little secret. I would have thought that with you carrying around Oliver Queen's secret that you wouldn't want to keep secrets. I wonder what he would think of you if he knew what you have done."

Standing there, Felicity felt cornered. She never really wanted to think about what Oliver, John, Sara, and even Roy would think of her if they knew about her past. She spent so much time working to bury the past so no one would be able to find out, but somehow someone had found out what she done.

She didn't see Isabel move, she had no idea, she was too deep in her thoughts, but when she realized what was going on she was toe to toe with the woman, and she felt a prick at her neck. The woman continued to smile at her and it was then that she saw the syringe in her hand and that her world was beginning to spin and then the world went black.

* * *

Sara and Oliver had spent hours patrolling the city, but they found nothing of interest, unless you could count the occasional mugging. There was no sign of Slade and his minions which caused Oliver to be wired and wondering what he was planning next. Diggle had spent the night around Verdant to keep an eye on the Thea, hoping to keep Slade from trying to do anything else to the poor girl, but he had nothing to report when they got back, nothing but the normal club scene. They were descending into the foundry when Oliver sensed that something was off. Grabbing Sara by the arm, she stopped and looked back to him.

That was the moment that the lights went off. They stood on the stairs, and they could hear movement down below them and a few seconds later the lights popped back on and in the center of the foundry stood Slade and Isabel. Oliver swiftly drew an arrow and pointed it down at the man that he had once called his friend. Diggle had already pulled his gun and Sara her Bo staff.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you…"

"What do you want Slade?" countered Oliver, never relaxing his stance.

"I know you would love to hurt either of us," gesturing to himself and Isabel, "but doubt you would want one of your own hurt."

That was the moment that he stepped aside and there was Felicity tied, gagged, and unconscious. Oliver's blood began to boil at the sight of his friend.

"Let her go, Slade," demanded Sara, before Oliver could get the words out.

"Oh, Sara, couldn't you come up with something more original?" laughed Slade as he drew his sword. "But I figured if I wanted to get your attention, I needed to do something drastic. At first I thought that I should take you from Oliver, but then I realized that this simple girl would do. Make you both squirm a little."

Felicity was starting to come to during the exchange, shaking her head trying to clear the drugs and to find out what was going on. Her eyes snapped to attention when she saw both Slade and Isabel just feet away and Oliver and the others on the stairs, ready to attack.

"What do you want?" Oliver demanded.

"I know what I want, what we both want," gesturing again to his partner, "I want you to suffer. I want you to watch all the people that you care about die painful deaths, and when you suffer alone for a while maybe you will be as destroyed as I am."

Slowly, Oliver, Sara, and Diggle came down the steps, Oliver and Sara standing face to face with their foes, Diggle trying to circle away so they could get a little advantage.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," answered Isabel, drawing her own gun and pointing it at John Diggle.

"I would say we were at a stalemate, but I think you are the one that has someone to lose here, Oliver," Slade laughed as he lightly drug the point of his sword against the side of Felicity's face, a faint line of blood surfacing, Felicity flinching in pain.

"Don't you touch her!"

"Well, Oliver why don't we make a trade? I have something you want; you have something I want and when I get it, I may consider leaving you to lick your wounds for a day or so."

"What do you want?"

"I know you took down a man by the name of William Tockman… he made something and I want it."

Clock King's key. Why did Slade want that? What door did he want access to that required something like?

"Why would we give it to you?" demanded Sara, glaring back at the mad man.

"I would assume to save your poor pathetic friend's life, but I can tell by your expression Ms. Lance that Ms. Smoak doesn't matter to you as much as it does to Oliver and one John Diggle."

Oliver looked into Sara's eyes. She cared about Felicity, he knew that, but in that moment he realized that Sara had one goal and one goal only and that was to end Slade Wilson's reign of terror, no matter the cost, even if the cost the life of a certain IT-girl. Maybe it was due to the time that she spent as an assassin that changed her perspective, but Oliver was not going to chance it.

"John, give it to him," Oliver called to his friend. Diggle looked tormented, maybe he couldn't believe that Oliver was going to do this, give Slade a tool that could open any door, but Oliver was not going to let Felicity be hurt any more than what she already was.

"Ollie, no…" cried Sara. "You can't!"

Releasing the tension on the arrow, dropping his bow almost in defeat, he pulled back his hood and looked at his old friend. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for people even when it goes against everything you would do normally. Get the key, Digg."

Diggle crossed the room and placed his thumb over the scanner to the storage room, it beeped releasing the door and he stepped inside and returned with Clock King's key. He walked back to Oliver handing it to him. Touching his shoulder Diggle spoke something that Oliver needed to hear in this moment.

"I understand why you are doing this, Oliver, just don't forget it when it's over."

Slade's smug smile made him want to gut the man, Isabel too. Everything in him told him not to give into this mad man's demands, it told him to bring his bow up again and finish this once and for all but it was the tear stained eyes of Felicity Smoak that made him stop. He swore he would protect her, and he wouldn't go back on his word, so he handed the device to Isabel and stepped back to join Sara and John a few feet back.

"Now let her go, Slade," Oliver quickly demanded. "You have what you came for…"

"For now, Queen, but now I think it's time to make you hurt," he retorted as motioned to Isabel and she began to raise her gun to Felicity's head.

"No!"

John Diggle had his gun raised and a bullet dropped between Isabel Rochev's eyes before anyone knew what was happening. Slade's expression had even shown how surprised that Diggle had got the shot off. Before anyone knew it, the lights went out again in the foundry. Oliver and Sara rushed in the direction of Slade's location, hoping to engage him before he got away, but just as fast the lights were out, they were back on, and Slade was gone, but luckily Felicity was still there, though she had been toppled over in the chair, knocked unconscious again in the commotion.

Diggle rushed to the girl's side, checking her vitals quickly. "She's just knocked out, but other than that, I think she is okay."

"You sure?"

Oliver hurried over to her, looking her over again, hoping to ease his worries. He had to know she was okay. It was when he had finally reassured himself what Digg had said was true that he stood and looked around. He hadn't realized the state of the liar until then. Everything was out of place, computers in the floor, gear, weapons… everything was destroyed.

Sara's back was to the rest of the group, her stance stiff and unmoving. Oliver walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder; she quickly turned around and shoved him.

"What the hell were you thinking?! You gave Slade the key!"

"I wasn't going to risk Felicity's safety over it! Felicity is a part of our team and I won't sacrifice someone I care about."

"We are at war, Ollie! WAR! There are casualties of war! You let that monster have something that will likely cause more casualties than one person!"

Oliver was blindsided by what Sara was saying. How could she not care about a person's life? Especially someone that he knew she called friend.

"You don't mean that, Sara. She's your friend just as much as mine."

"Felicity knows what is at stake!"

"The hell she does! She hasn't seen the horrors that either of us have seen. She sees people and she helps them!"

"Maybe she doesn't need to be here if she isn't willing to take the risks needed to win this," she spat as she started to walk away.

"Maybe it's you has forgotten what it's meant to be human, Sara!"

She spun on her feet and came back to stand toe to toe with Oliver. Her eyes cold and unfeeling as she looking into his eyes, he didn't recognize the person looking back at him. It was when they felt Digg shoving them apart.

"I think the two of you need to cut it out! This isn't the time or the place to do this. Felicity is okay, but we don't know what Slade and Isabel did to her prior to us getting here, and Sara this is far from being a war zone, and we won't be sacrificing anyone to any cause. Maybe if that is how you feel you don't need to be here. We are a team, and we don't let our teammates get hurt if we can prevent it."

Sara turned and left Oliver and Digg standing there without a word. Oliver couldn't help but think that any other normal time he would try to follow her, talk to her, but he couldn't. He was too angry and hurt to say anything at this point and he knew that Felicity would need a friend when she woke up from this.

"Come on, Oliver, help me get her untied and we'll get her up on the cot and comfortable until she wakes up."

Turning his attention back to Felicity, they cut her ties and Diggle leaned down to pick her up.

"I'll get her, Digg," he replied stepping over and swept Felicity's small frame into his arms. Carrying her to the cot he realized how small she was, but that small body carried a mighty spirit. He gently laid her down and pulling the blanket up over her. He then pulled a chair up beside her. He couldn't help but start to blame himself for her current situation. Slade wouldn't have been interested in her if it wasn't for him.

"Quit blaming yourself."

Diggle was starting to clean up but was look right at him. "She chose this life, Oliver. She knows the risks, and I guess Sara was right about one thing, she does know what is at stake when she works with us."

"She has been hurt more times than I care to know. I'm tired of seeing people I care about get hurt or killed. I don't know how much more of this I can take, John. I really don't."

"Now, that proves that you are still human," he answered solemnly. "Stay with her, I'll get started on the cleanup and deal with contacting Officer Lance about Isabel's body. Alright?"

Oliver just nodded as he stood to take off everything except his t-shirt and pants, and he settled back into the chair and looked down at Felicity's slumbering form. He looked at the cut that Slade had placed upon her cheek, and he reached out to run his thumb against it, and he was startled when she unconsciously pressed her face into the touch and sighed. He started to feel the exhaustion that had plagued him for the longest time. He never realized he was nodding off, but within minutes he was asleep, his hand holding onto Felicity's for dear life.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Thank you to all that have read so far and for the lovely reviews.**

**I do not own DC Comics or Arrow. Just continuing taking the characters for adventures.**

_Felicity's eyes came open to see the sun shining down on the floor of her bedroom, but not the one that she had now, but the one of her childhood. The posters of the many boy bands that she had loved still covered the walls, the blanket the bed was the one her grandmother had made, and her favorite teddy bear on the dresser across the room. To say that she was confused would be an understatement, and when she heard the voice call to her from the doorway, it caused her heart to jump out of her chest._

"_Felicity, we are waiting for you to come to breakfast. You know how impatient your father can be when I make waffles and all the homemade toppings."_

_Felicity's mother was such a beautiful woman, small and petite, the brightest blue eyes, and the most gentle smile. Seeing this woman warmed her heart._

"_Okay, Mom. I'll be there in a minute," she answered with a shy smile._

_Climbing from the bed, she went to the closet and pulled her favorite MIT hoodie and a pair of jeans, dressed, and hurried down the hallway. Passing all the pictures of her childhood, her with pigtails, some with braces… something she wished she could forget, dressed in formals that she attended in high school, family and friends. There were so many pleasant memories._

"_Morning Princess! How'd you sleep last night?"_

"_Great, Dad! Probably the first night in forever that I didn't wake up at all."_

_Drinking from his MIT Dad coffee cup, her father was studying the Sunday paper while slowly lifting a bite from his plate that was just sitting off to the side beside him. Her father was tall in comparison to his wife and daughter. Most people thought he was too serious by just glancing at him, but he was very tenderhearted when it came to his family, but he was never a man to be crossed. Felicity couldn't help the fact that her smile continued to radiate with joy, something she hadn't felt in such a long time. When her mother sat a plate of waffles in front of her, she quickly dug in, savoring the flavors of the fresh blueberries. Nothing could ruin this moment…_

"_Hey Babe…"_

_Felicity's fork clanked against the plate as she dropped it from her hand. Jerking around she saw someone that shouldn't be there. Standing in the doorway was a man in his late twenties, broad shouldered, messy blonde hair falling forward, almost hiding the green eyes that were staring back at her. Her body was trembling as she jumped from her chair and went on the defensive._

"_What are you doing here? You can't be here… you can't…" she stuttered._

"_What's wrong, Babe? You look like you've seen a ghost."_

"_You're not real. You can't be…"_

"_Felicity…"_

_The blood from her face fell as soon as she turned to see who spoke. Her mother was shaking, her small form was lying in a puddle of her own blood, a gunshot wound in the middle of her chest, her father too, but the life had already left his eyes. _

"_Mommy!" She screamed as she ran to the woman's side, putting her hands over the wound, trying to put as much pressure on the wound as she could. _

"_Hold on, Mom." She begged._

"_I love you, baby." Smiled the woman as the life left her eyes._

_The wail that came from her would have chilled the blood of anyone that could have heard it. Turning back to the man in the door, she was greeted with a malicious smile._

"_They were keeping me away from you. They should have just let us be, Babe."_

"_Stop calling me that. You're nothing to me, Brandon" she spat._

"_You'll be sorry you said that," crossing the room in two large strides, his hands reached out and were at her neck, squeezing the life out of her…"_

Felicity screamed as she jerked herself into a sitting position and she would have tumbled off the cot if it hadn't been for Oliver grabbing her by the waist. She knew that she had to look frantic, her heart was pounding, and she kept scanning the room for reassurance that she was in the foundry, a place that had tons and tons of security features. It felt so real. She really thought that Brandon was going to squeeze the life out of her.

"Hey. You're safe. You're safe." Oliver kept repeating over and over.

Felicity tried to calm herself. She was safe, she knew it, but somewhere in her mind she was she knew she would never truly be safe. She would always be running from a past that she that she could not escape.

"Three, two, one…" she muttered as she felt her heart finally began to return to a somewhat normal rhythm.

"Are you okay?"

Her attention finally went back to the man that still had a tight grip on her waist, his eyes studying her almost like he was trying to discover what terrified her so much and then she noticed her own death grip on his arms. Releasing him, she brought her hands to rub her arms, wishing that she could just be invisible at the moment.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," she started as she finally brought her eyes to meet her friend's.

"It's okay really."

Oliver pulled the chair back up beside her as she started to realize the state of the foundry. She tried to get up, but Oliver stopped her before she could even swing her legs off the cot.

"Whoa, where do you think you are going?"

"Oliver! Do you not see this place?!"

"It can wait. If you don't remember, you were held captive by Slade and Isabel. I think the rest can wait."

"Is that blood?!" Felicity screamed when she noticed a puddle of blood not far from where she knew she had been tied to a chair. "Oh my God, what happened?!"

"Breathe, Felicity. It's okay."

"Okay?! How is that okay?! Where are Sara and John?" she screamed, waving her arms dramatically.

"Sara, I am not really sure, but Digg is making arrangements for Officer Lance to find Isabel Rochev's body." His voice sounding almost bitter as he spoke Sara's name.

Felicity's mind flashed back in her mind, trying to piece together what had happened, it was when the events began to click into place and that she remembered Isabel raising her gun to point it at Felicity's head.

"She was going to shoot me."

Oliver nodded and reached for her hand, hoping that it would bring her comfort, but in a way, it was bring him more comfort than she could know. On a level he knew that being glad that it was Isabel dead and not Felicity made him a bad person, but he honestly didn't think he would want to exist in a world that this tiny woman didn't exist.

"Digg did what he had to do to keep you safe."

"Slade?"

"Got away… for now."

She sat there and processed the information, and it was then that she noticed the circles that Oliver was rubbing on her palms. It was clear he was shaken over the events that had taken place, hell she was pretty shaken up too, especially after the nightmare she had and the fact that they had to kill someone to keep her alive, and that made her sick.

"We'll get this place together, but right now, let me take you home…"

"No!" She screeched as she wrenched her hands away from Oliver, and he felt almost rejected by the actions, but judging by the look on Felicity's face, it wasn't personal, she was scared. He forgot that she had spent the night in the foundry the night before, there was something about being in her apartment was really bothering her.

"That's where she drugged me…" she mumbled as she wrenched her hands in her lap.

He pulled himself as close as he could to her without getting up there on the cot himself. Looking at her, she looked defeated, which was not making much sense to him at the moment. It was more than the fact that she was likely tortured by Slade or Isabel or even both, it was like something inside her that she had been working so hard to keep bottled up inside was now exposed and there was no point in keeping it in anymore.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

"It's not that big of a deal, I guess," shrugging as she continued to twiddle her fingers. "After I left here I went to my apartment, I didn't have anywhere else to go since I don't have a job anymore, well at least not a day job, anyway I go home, I feel like I was being watched, but I didn't want to be a baby and call you or John so I just went inside, and somehow Isabel was there and she taunted me with the fact that she knew I was tracking her movements in concern to Slade, that it was a shame that I was loyal to you or she could use me, and she…"

She trailed off and her eyes told Oliver that her mind went off somewhere else, where was the question, and if he was to guess it was likely in concern to the reason that she was nervous in the first place. She snaps back to the present and continues like nothing had happened.

"The next thing I know she has plunged a syringe into my neck and the world goes dark and the next thing I know I am waking up with you pointing an arrow at them. Then you know what happened up to the point that I was knocked out yet again. Seriously I do not like the fact that I am taking up the role of damsel in distress in this whole thing since I am far from being a princess in need of Prince Charming rescuing me."

Oliver couldn't help but laugh at her. It was nice to know that beyond the fact that she had been through hell in the last few hours, she was still able to find some humor in everything that was happening to them.

"You're far from being the damsel in distress, but I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. If Digg hadn't stopped Isabel, I would have."

Felicity dropped her eyes, wishing he hadn't said that, it caused her to feel worse keeping her secret from Oliver. Honestly, she wanted to tell Oliver the truth, even John, but the fear that they would turn their backs on her, even use the information against her. Most of all, they were the closest people she had to family, and that was something that she hadn't had in such a long time, and the thought of losing that kept her silent.

"I'm not worth killing another person, Oliver."

"Felicity, you mean more to me than most of the people out there in the world. You're a good person, you do more good in a day than most people do in a lifetime, and there isn't a thing you can say that will change the way that I feel about you. With that being said, I think it will be best if you come home with me tonight," he continued but put his hand up to stop her from interrupting him, "I am going to have Digg go over, check out your apartment and maybe get some security set up before you go back. We don't need Slade getting in there."

Sighing in defeat, Felicity took the hand that Oliver extended as he stood up beside her. She was exhausted, she was tired from the events of the day, the nightmare that brought forward many things that she tried tirelessly to keep quiet, and she was tired of the running and the lying. She walked with Oliver hand in hand out of the foundry and to his car that was parked just outside. As she got into the car, the one thing that she realized was that the fact that someone did find out what she had done, and it was only a matter of time before someone she cared about found out her secret and her universe would explode around her.

* * *

Oliver was stiff when he woke up, and he was rather confused to why since he knew that his hotel bed was rather comfortable, not as comfortable as the one he had when he lived at the mansion, but he was stiff like he had been lying on a board. Looking around he realized he was on the couch across the room from the bed he normally slept in, a bed that was currently occupied by a rather petite blonde. He stretched as he began to scan the hotel suite that he had been living in for the last few weeks, but finally stopped again to watch the slight rise and fall of the woman's chest and he sighed as he felt his phone vibrate beside him, he pressed the ignore button, he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment.

Turning on the television, he was blasted by news that the new CEO of Queen Consolidated had been found murdered, a bullet wound to the head, and the press was asking one question… where was Oliver Queen. Not because they thought he killed the woman, but apparently Isabel Rochev had some shady dealings had come to light in the hours since her body was discovered, and the board was looking for the man that had been their front man with hopes that him returning would salvage the company's reputation. He pushed the ignore button again when the phone buzzed for the second time, and he continued to watch as the television as it shifted to the Starling City mayoral race and they were discussing the rally that his mother would be having at Verdant that evening. He had to suppress a groan especially since he knew that he could not hide forever; he made a promise to support his mother's campaign, even though the thought of said promise made him sick. That was the moment that his phone vibrated yet again, but this time it was his mother's number that was flashing on the screen.

"What can I do for you mother?" he groaned through gritted teeth as he answered the phone.

"_Oliver, where are you?"_

"Wherever I want to be, mother, is there a point to this call?"

"_The board of directors has been calling for hours. They want you to come in and talk to the board; they are calling a special meeting. We need to do something to try to remedy us loosing…"_

"I honestly don't give a damn what the board wants. They made their choice. They knew what they were doing when they put Isabel in permanently and you see what that got them, from what the news is reporting she had some pretty crooked underhanded dealings with the Russian mafia."

"_Oliver, they know they shouldn't have sided with Isabel and they also know that the company won't survive without you. Walter has already called me, apparently due to some legality that Isabel never thought of and the fact that it appears that the funds she used to buy the shares were illegally obtained, we have rights to buy back the stock and regain control of the company. Walter says we have enough clout with the bank to get the loan needed to get the company back."_

"Well, you do it. You were running the company well before I came back, maybe you should work something out with Walter and get the company back… I am done with this."

"_Oliver, be reasonable…"_

"Goodbye mother, I will see you when I have to see you," he spat as he ended the call, pinching the bridge of his nose with hopes that it would alleviate the headache that was coming on.

"What was that all about?"

Looking up he met Felicity's eyes, and he quickly turned off the television with hopes of keeping some of the drama that had been going on beyond the doors away from her. She really had been through a lot in the last day or so, and this was his way of protecting her for a little while longer.

"It's nothing. You should be resting," he answered with the smile that he usually reserved for the world that didn't know who he was, the world that expected the playboy, not the man that came back from an island of nightmares.

"Oliver… what's wrong?" she asked as she started to remove herself from probably the most comfortable bed she had ever been in, one that Oliver had obviously slept in a few times, since it smelt of his cologne.

Striding across the room, Oliver was sitting down beside her, but not before he settled the blankets back into her lap. His hand moved to cover hers, and she wondered why he did it. He never was this affectionate with her.

"The world knows Isabel is dead and now they are on the lookout for me."

"You didn't kill Isabel," she screeched. "You didn't…"

"Hey, Hey," he started, "It's not what you think. Since they found Isabel's body, some of her past business dealings have been discovered and they weren't exactly legal, and it's even come to light that the funds that she used to acquire the company were not exactly legal. Apparently, the Queen family is set up to buy back the stocks that Isabel acquired due to some legal rights and the board wants me to come back and front the company. That was my mother on the phone trying to get me to go talk to them."

"I should have known that she didn't acquire the company legally. I really should have dug into her when she came to Starling," she admitted, "And you don't want the company back? You seemed pretty upset when Isabel pulled this whole coup over on you."

"I never really wanted a company in the first place, it was more something that I had to do. Honestly, it might be a relief to be free of it. No running out on stuff because I have to bust a drug ring or stop a mad man from blowing up the city."

"But there are a lot of good people that work for the company and they need someone to look out for them."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle, she has been traumatized, almost shot, and she still is more concerned about other people, not herself.

"You're something else, Felicity Smoak."

"I just know that you can't let people suffer, no matter what. Call the board. Meet with them if you have to, just set this right. We have a lot to do, especially since you have to be at your mother's rally tonight."

"How can someone that almost died remember what my schedule is?"

"Well, I have been your executive assistant for how many months and that kind of comes with the job description," she answered with a smile. "Just make the call; I'll use the shower that I know is probably bigger than my whole bathroom in my apartment. Then we will see where we need to go from here. Oh, and call John, we need to update him and plan our next move in regard to Slade."

She didn't give him time to argue, she had already jumped from the bed and hurried to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Oliver sighed as he looked down at his phone. His first call was to Diggle and asked him to meet them at the hotel and to pick up a couple things for him and Felicity as well as double check the security in Felicity's building. After he hung up with Digg, he stared at his phone for a few moments as it started to vibrate yet again, this time the interim chairman calling from his personal phone. This time Oliver answered and was greeted by a line of bull that told him how good it was to hear from him and that they had already been in contact with the Queen family attorneys and that Walter had already put into motion the necessary actions to buy back Isabel's shares and that they were calling to inform him that they had a meeting and that they voted to reinstate him as CEO. He couldn't help but internally groan. The thought that he would have to put on the mask of CEO on again really wasn't something that he wanted, he really had been happy to be free of that persona. The only positive out of the whole situation was that he would be able to save a company that his grandfather worked years to build. He just had one thing to do before he could maybe put the focus needed on that company: He had to defeat Slade Wilson.

* * *

Felicity was studying her reflection in the mirror when there was a gentle tap at the bathroom door. She had just finished showering and was wrapped in the fluffiest robe she had even seen or felt. She opened the door just a little, figuring it would be Oliver checking on her but it was a very serious looking John Diggle, garment bag in hand.

"Clothes, my lady," he replied trying to sound serious, but broke out into a chuckle.

Taking them from him, she smiled and shut the door behind her. Hanging the bag up on the hook just inside the door, she unzipped it to find an emerald dress staring back at her. She ran back to the door and slung it open to find Diggle smugly smiling back at her as he leaned against the wall.

"What is that?!" she shrieked.

"Well, last time I checked, they call those dresses." As he gestured toward the bathroom door.

"I know what a dress is, John! I guess my question is why do I have a dress? I figured if Oliver would send you to retrieve something for me to wear, it would be something that wasn't my blouse and skirt that is currently covered in blood splatter, it would be clothes that would be more appropriate to be out in public, not in a beauty pageant!"

"What is going on in here?" Asked Oliver as he walked back into the room, he had been in another room of the suite.

"There is a dress in there," she pointed dramatically at the bathroom door.

"Okay, there is a dress in there. Normally people put on dresses, well women do at least."

"Alright… Why do I have a dress and not just any dress, but a dress that likely costs more than my average car payment?!"

"Well, since I have to make a public appearance, I figured that you wouldn't want to be left alone while I have to be at my mother's rally and especially since it's technically my first appearance as the newly reappointed CEO of Queen Consolidated. Digg's excuse is that he's my security, and you are my assistant, right?" he asked as he studied her expression. "So some people might assume that you would be present and you normally accompany me to these things, right?"

"Oliver, I still have clothes that cost less than that dress and would have been just as appropriate for the occasion, and I doubt your mother would really want to see me with the whole fact that I blew up her world when I let you in on the fact that Malcom is Thea's biological father. I probably would be best for everyone if I just went home."

"Felicity, I want you there. Please, do this for me."

Staring back at her was someone that Felicity had never seen before. She had seen many sides of Oliver Queen but this one was different. This one seemed almost lost, not confident like the ones that she had seen many times before, not the playboy, not the Arrow, but someone that might even be a little bit timid. How could she say no to that person?

"Okay, but next time, no extravagant dresses," she smiled as she turned back toward the bathroom, and a bright smile crossed Oliver's lips as she turned away from him.

"Oh, you might need this," called John from across the room as he walked toward her, in his hands was her small travel bag which contained her makeup and the necessary tools that she would need to use to make herself presentable for the Starling City elite.

"Thank you, John. You really are the best."

"I try. Go on and get ready, we only have a few hours to get ready and we still need to plan something in the event that Slade decides to make an appearance."

She looks around and notices that Oliver is nowhere to be seen, but she doesn't think much about it, she just figures that he went to get himself ready too. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Felicity was walking amongst the elite of Starling City; trying to hold her head high like they did, though she was far from being one of them. She was a fraud to be completely honest. If these people knew her past, they would likely paint a huge letter on her chest like the masses did to Hester Prynne in _The Scarlett Letter_. This event wasn't as fancy as some of the others that she had been to with Oliver, but after her dream from earlier today, she felt even more awkward being around anyone, especially people that threw money around like it was nothing.

She didn't know where Oliver was at the moment. He was led off somewhere by Moria's campaign manager as soon as Oliver come in. She almost thought the campaign manager was on the verge of having a slight melt down, not that she really cared. As she walked about the crowd, she had lost sight of John, but she wasn't too concerned, he was likely patrolling the crowd like they had discussed prior to leaving the hotel.

She couldn't help but cringe at the memory of leaving the hotel for the rally. All of the flashes, the calls from the paparazzi to answer questions, and the most awkward were the ones that asked who she was and what it was like to be on the arm of Starling's most eligible bachelor. Felicity wanted nothing more than to be invisible, but she kept telling herself this was for Oliver, and she could put up with a few hours of being uncomfortable.

She maneuvered herself through the crowd to the bar and just on the other side stood Thea, who looked more annoyed than anything as she gave some directions to the bartender. Felicity thought that she looked destroyed on a variety of levels, and she guessed that she would be too if she had been through the things that the poor girl had.

"Hi, Thea."

"Oh, hi… Felicity right?"

"Yeah. Tradition says I should ask how you are, but I know the answer, so I won't subject you to that."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that, especially since I have to put on this front for all these people who think that Moria Queen is oh so wonderful, and all she is a liar. Maybe it's a good thing that she has chosen to go into politics; she has already gotten the lying down to a science, just like my brother."

"Your brother didn't want you hurt, Thea. You can't blame him for wanting to protect you."

"Maybe I expected more from him," she said with a sigh.

"Oliver really did have your best interest at heart, or at least I believe he does. I know you're mad at him now, but don't shut him out completely. You may need each other someday."

"You sound like you know this from experience."

"Maybe, mostly I wish I still had someone that loved me that much. It's nice knowing that you have someone that would do anything in the world to protect you. Oliver isn't perfect, but he really does have good intentions."

Felicity waved as she walked away from Thea, who looked even more conflicted than she did when she began the conversation with her. Felicity really had to work hard to keep the tears that had been building from tumbling over and ruining her makeup. Thea Queen really had no idea how much her brother loved her, what he did to protect her daily, and that did not include the stuff he did as the Arrow. She was completely blind to the fact that Oliver loved her more than his own life and that was something Felicity couldn't help feel to be the most precious gift he could ever give his sister.

Lost in her own thoughts she didn't realize that Oliver had returned, and she jumped when he placed his warm hand on her shoulder, and he quickly caught her to prevent her from losing her balance.

"Where were you?" he asked as he continued to study her expression.

"Just thinking. Everything okay?" She asked hoping to change the subject.

"She knows." He whispered in her ear as the crowd broke out in applause, Moria Queen was taking the podium.

"She knows?" She almost had to yell to him.

"She knows how I spend my evenings apparently," he said with a slight chuckle just loud enough for her to hear. The crowd was still clapping, and unaware of their conversation.

"How?"

"I guess I am not as secretive as I thought."

"Is she…"

"No, I don't think she is planning on unmasking me any time soon. She even said she was proud of me."

The crowd finally quieted as Moria Queen began her speech. It was really moving, and Oliver actually looked like he was happy to be here, not like he wanted to run from the room screaming. Maybe his mother accepting him as he is now, the Oliver Queen that suffered all those trials on an island, not the son that left on The Queen's Gambit would change his outlook on things. Maybe this was a turning point in his life, maybe with some hope; Oliver Queen would find some sibilance of happiness.

The crowd's applause at the conclusion of the speech was enthusiastic, and Moria moved through the crowd and hugged Oliver, and Felicity slid back out of sight and was joined by Diggle. They just watched. This was a moment that both knew that Oliver needed, a bright moment in the world that has been so dark for him for such a long time. Neither of them knew that this happy moment would be something that he would cling to in the days to come.

* * *

Diggle was taking her home after the rally; he was even going to stay on her couch tonight since she really wasn't ready to face her apartment full of memories alone, at least not yet. They were in his car, and the drive was met by silence, not that Felicity minded. Honestly, the silence was nice especially with everything that had transpired over the last few days and hours. Oliver and Thea were going home with Moria, and hopefully having a chat that was long overdue.

"How do you think the conversation with all of them is going?" asked John as he pulled into the space in front of her building.

"I don't know. I know it's not going to end with Oliver telling Thea he's a masked crime fighter that stalks the night, but maybe they can return to some form of normalcy, at least something that isn't them giving each other death looks every two seconds."

They went inside, but paused just outside her door. She could feel the tremble in her hand as she was bringing her key to the door.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You could stay with me until you're ready…"

"No, I'm fine," she said as she finally brought her key to the door and turned it.

Pushing open the door and turning on the light, she stood there for a moment, just looking to see what horrors awaited her, but nothing was there. It was exactly as she left it, everything in its place. Nothing spoke of the fact that someone had been there and they shouldn't have been.

They finally went inside, John settling himself on the couch, and she went to her room and started to take off the clothes she was wearing for something that was more comfortable. As she entered her eyes settled on the picture of two people she didn't know, and it made her blood run cold. Most days she could pass it and pretend that they were important to her, but they weren't. The two people that she really did care about were hidden away, not because she didn't love them, but she knew that if the world knew about them, she would have to answer questions that she could not answer now, not ever if she wished to continue the life she was leading. Today she walked to the frame and laid it face down on her dresser, not wanting to see those eyes staring back at her.

She changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before she returned to the living room to find John watching the news. She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of bottles of water before she settled herself on the couch beside her friend, grabbing her blanket off the back of the couch. They sat there for what seemed like hours, they even fell asleep on the couch, so when Diggle's phone went off, it startled them both and it almost caused Felicity to tumble off the couch, but luckily John grabbed her before she fell.

"Hello…" he answered voice gravelly from sleep. "What?!"

Felicity studied John as he continued to have a quick conversation with someone on the phone and when he hung up he turned back to her and looked almost destroyed.

"What's wrong, John?"

"Moria Queen is dead."

"What?! How?!"

"Slade Wilson. That was Officer Lance. He said I may need to go to the hospital and pick up Oliver and Thea. They're fine, just typical protocol after something like this."

Felicity jumped up and ran to her room and pulled on a blouse and a pair of jeans and Diggle was pulling on his coat as she ran back into the room. Her mind was spinning; her friend was now going through something that he truly didn't deserve. The drive to the hospital was over before it started, and as they rushed into the hospital the only person they could see was a distraught Thea, covered in what was likely her mother's blood and drenched in her own tears. When the girl saw Felicity, she ran into her arms.

"He killed her… he stuck a sword in her," she sobbed into her shoulder.

Felicity held on to the girl as tightly as she could, and she continued to study the room, looking for Oliver. It was then that Officer Lance came into view and noticed her and Diggle.

"Thank you for coming to get her, she really needs someone right now," he answered as he rubbed his hand against his face.

"Where is Oliver?" Felicity asked still looking for her friend.

"That's really the reason I called. He got checked by the paramedics on the scene, came to the hospital with Thea and no one has seen him since."

The girl continued to cry in Felicity's arms, and Diggle walked just out of ear shot of her and Thea so he could talk to Lance. This girl had suffered so much in the last few days, she discovered the man that raised her wasn't her father, her real father was a homicidal maniac, and she watched a man murder her mother right before her eyes. No person deserved that kind of horror or heartache.

"Come on, we'll take her home," replied Diggle as he came forward and helped Felicity guide her to the car.

Felicity rode in the back with Thea, the girl's head cradled in her lap. She gently rubbed her arms and pushed the stray hairs from her eyes, tears still streaming down her face.

"We're taking you home, Thea," she whispered as she continued to comfort her.

"No," she answered, turning to face her. "Please don't take me there. I don't want to be alone."

"John, let's go back to my place. She can stay with me for a while. Is that okay?" she asked looking down at the trembling woman.

She nodded as she turned away from her. Felicity smiled at Diggle as he looked back at her in the rearview mirror. The rest of the drive was uneventful. They helped her from the car and into the building. Felicity helped her out of her shoes and helped her put on one of her comfy t-shirts and let her lay down in her bed. After she was sure the girl was asleep, she left the door cracked as she went back to the living room to find out what Digg knew.

"What happened?"

"Slade orchestrated a plot to wreck the car that they were riding in, he drug them to a remote place outside of the city and told Oliver he would have to choose who he wanted to die, his mother or his sister. He wouldn't pick and Slade was going to pick for him, that was when Moria stood up and he stabbed her through the chest while Oliver and Thea watched. I guess Thea finally was able to call for help but they couldn't understand her so they tracked the call and found them and Moria's body."

"That family has already had so much tragedy, and now this," Felicity groaned.

"I have to agree with you, but right now we have a problem."

"Oliver is missing."

"Yeah, I have been trying to call him and it goes straight to his voice mail. Apparently he doesn't want to be found right now."

"I know he doesn't but Thea needs him. We have to find him, John."

"Let me make a call and I will see what I can do."

Felicity tip toed back down the hall and looked in on the woman in her bed. Her sleep was fitful but that was to be expected. When you see the horrors that Thea had seen tonight the dreams that you would face would not be happy ones. She understood her torment, more than she wanted to admit, she wanted to tell the girl that it would be okay, that it would be fine, but it was never going to be fine in the way it was before she watched her mother's life was taken from her. Watching someone you love being killed before your eyes was something that would haunt a person forever.

"I have a lead on, Oliver."

"We can't leave her here alone, John. Not with Slade out there."

"I called the security at the mansion, and they are sending someone over to stay with her. I figure you wouldn't be staying."

"We need to find him. How long till they are here?"

"Rich said fifteen minutes grab your coat and get ready."

"Alright, I'll be ready in five." She said as she went into her room and shut the door to get ready.

* * *

When they entered what they found out was Oliver's other liar, they were surprised to find how bare it was. It had some basic things, but nothing like the foundry. Oliver was sitting on the floor; his body leaned against a column, his knees almost at his chest, his arms folded on them, and his face pressed into them. This was the second time in a matter of hours that Felicity saw this version of Oliver Queen, the one that she saw for the first time today, the one that begged her to go to Moria's rally.

"Oliver…" she whispered as she stepped forward, Diggle stayed back near the door.

"How did you find me?"

"Amanda helped us," answered Diggle, not moving from his spot.

"It's my fault," he muttered against his arms.

"It's not your fault, Oliver," answered the small woman as she walked over and crouched beside him, laying her hand gently on his arm.

"How could it not be?" He answered as he turned to meet her eyes, tears welling in his eyes. "Slade Wilson wouldn't have killed her if she hadn't been my mother."

The tears then tumbled down his face and Felicity fell to his side and pulled the large man into her arms, holding him close to her chest. He shuttered as the tears fell and he began to hold onto her small frame for dear life, almost like if he let go he would be adrift in the sea of emotions that he was feeling. Felicity held on to him just as tightly, for she knew his heartache like it was her own and she knew that the path from this point on would be just as difficult. The storm was still brewing on the horizon and the final battle was yet to come, they just had to survive this moment, and it was only together that they would find the strength to overcome the evils yet to come.


End file.
